Day 5 - 5/27/2003 - From Castles to Catholic Mosques
(aka. Day of Chris Columbus)

Temperature: 36° C = 96° F
Weather: Hot & Sunny!
Location: Madrid, Seville, and Cordoba

We got up this morning at 5:30 AM! I couldn’t believe how awake I was for getting so little sleep! … and then I slept the whole two-hour train ride to Seville. I didn’t get my hair cut by a barber in Seville, but we did see this great plaza called "Plaza de Espana" with intricate tile patterns and big towers and fountains. It was very pretty. I took lots of pictures!

We next went to a big castle called "Real Alcazar." It was where Christopher Columbus was welcomed home from his America-discovering journey by Ferdinand and Isabella! They had an amazing display of wealth! There were gardens and fountains and huge rooms lined with tiles. We hopped onto a tour and learned all about the architecture and the history of the castle. We learned that Jews, Muslims, and Christians all played a part in building the castle and there is evidence that all 3 groups lived together in peace for over 200 years.

There was a long line at the bathroom there and I had to wait for Hilary. Then a huge tour group arrived to go all at once and the line got so long that women were going into the men’s room while there were men in there! The security guard arrived to stop this.

When then walked nearby to the largest gothic cathedral in the world and third largest cathedral in Europe next to St. Peter’s in Rome (the largest in Europe) and St. Paul’s in London (the second largest in Europe). So now I’ve seen the three largest cathedrals in Europe! =)

The church itself was, in fact, massive. Its ceiling was 30 meters tall! (More than 90 feet). The choir stalls and pipe organs contained all hand-carved wood that hurt your neck looking up at it! =)

We got 2 audio guides and listened to the whole tour of the church, one chapel at a time. It took over 150 years to complete! (… the construction of the church, not the audio guide tour). And back then, you were lucky to live to be 45 years old!

Also, the remains of Christopher Columbus reside in that church! They have a well-decorated tomb for him there. (Surrounded by scaffolding at the moment, though)

We caught a quick lunch after the cathedral at an Irish pub, and hurried to catch a train to Cordoba (half way back to Madrid).

When we got to Cordoba, we headed right to “the Mezquita,” an old mosque that was converted to a church by plopping a cathedral down in the center of it. There were red and white striped arches and beautiful Muslim tile work … and then a church! It’s really interesting how the two styles completely clashed.

After we exited, we haggled a good rate for a carriage ride through town. Our driver showed us the highlights of Cordoba. He even drove on the highway for a while. It’s amazing how many ancient stone historical buildings are in Cordoba that are falling apart from neglect.

After our carriage ride, we went to eat at a nice place we passed in our travels, and it was excellent! We had a type of paella and Hilary had gazpacho (cold tomato soup… yelch!) I tasted it and it was bad! It tasted like I was eating spoonfuls of olive oil! For dessert, I had lemon sorbet inside the frozen peel of a whole lemon! It was awesome!

After dinner, we took the high speed train back to Madrid and went to bed early. There was some “caught on tape” special on television in Spanish that looked fun. They showed bull fight accidents where the bulls impaled the matador and effortlessly tossed them into the air. I then knew why they handicapped the bull so much! =)

More pictures from Day 5:

	Another picture of the beautiful gardens of Real Alcazar
	Doesn't this look a bit like California? They have palm trees in Spain!
	There's a tunnel carved into this shrub!
	In the basement of the castle. This is where the aqeducts hooked into the place.
	More culture clash: In the Mezquita, see how the Islamic arches don't seem to go with the Christian chappel.

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